UFC on Fox 5 Prelims: Yves Edwards KOs Jeremy Stephens

American Top Team’s Yves Edwards
knocked out Jeremy
Stephens 1:55 into the first round of their lightweight duel as
part of the
UFC on Fox 5 “Henderson vs. Diaz” prelims on Friday at the Key
Arena in Seattle. Stephens (20-9, 7-8 UFC), who entered the cage
with 28 professional fights to his credit, had never before been
knocked out.

Edwards (42-18-1, 10-6 UFC) cracked the Iowan with a short counter
right hook, dropping Stephens where he stood. He followed the dazed
“Lil’ Heathen” to the mat and swarmed with hammerfists and punches,
ultimately finishing it with a nasty elbow to the face.

“When he went down, I thought he was out for a second, but his eyes
were still open so I jumped on him,” Edwards said. “I was like, ‘I
can’t let this guy recover. This guy has a good chin.’ So, I had to
take him out.”

Assuncao Slows Easton Ascent

Raphael
Assuncao took another significant step forward at 135 pounds,
as he captured a unanimous decision from former Ultimate Warrior
Challenge champion Mike Easton
in a preliminary bantamweight encounter. All three judges ruled in
favor of Assuncao (19-4, 3-1 UFC), who has won four of his last
five fights.

Crisp counterpunching was the story, as the Brazilian met the
oncoming Easton (13-2, 3-1 UFC) with rights and lefts, interrupting
his rhythm and racking up points on the scorecards. Assuncao failed
to get his takedowns in gear, but it mattered little against an
opponent who seemed unwilling or unable to make adjustments on the
fly. Easton moved forward, and Assuncao kept measuring him for
counters.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Lloyd Irvin,
Easton was effective when he kicked to the legs, but, more often
than not, he settled for power punches, most of them finding
nothing but air. With that, his eight-fight winning streak was
over.

‘Ultimate Fighter’ Finalist Nijem Downs Proctor

A stout chin, a few takedowns and some high-risk, high-reward
strikes carried “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 finalist Ramsey
Nijem to a unanimous verdict over Joe Proctor
in an undercard matchup at 155 pounds. All three cageside judges
scored it for Nijem (7-2, 3-1 UFC): 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Nijem stormed out of the gate, bloodying his opponent’s mouth with
a jumping front kick and follow-up ground-and-pound in the first
round. Rounds two and three were far more competitive, but Proctor
(8-2, 1-1 UFC) never managed to turn the corner. He threatened
Nijem with a guillotine choke in the second round and an armbar in
the third, only two see both opportunities slip away and his
adversary assume dominant positions.

Cruickshank (12-2, 2-0 UFC) had the
Bellator Fighting Championships veteran reeling in the first
round, as he planted his foot in the New Mexican’s solar plexus. A
series of head and body kicks followed on the folded Martinez, but
the 29-year-old refused to go away despite the visible agony on his
face.

In the second round, Cruickshank picked up where he left off. He
lured his foe to the center of the cage and fired high with an
exquisite kick, his foot wrapping around Martinez’s head, shin
striking neck and skull. Martinez collapsed, and Cruickshank’s arms
rose in a triumphant salute.

“Henry’s a tough guy,” Cruickshank said. “There’s no pushovers
here. I was always taught if you take out the body, the head will
come.”

Trujillo Knees Stop LeVesseur

Blackzilians export Abel
Trujillo dazzled in his promotional debut, as he put away
decorated amateur wrestler Marcus
LeVesseur with a series of savage knee strikes to the body in
the second round of their undercard duel at 155 pounds. A late
substitute for former three-division King of the Cage champion
Tim
Means, LeVesseur (22-7, 1-2 UFC) met his end 3:56 into round
two.

Airtight takedown defense, brutal work in close quarters and
blinding hand speed carried Trujillo (10-4, 1-0 UFC) to his fifth
consecutive victory. The 29-year-old Florida-based lightweight
blasted LeVesseur with elbows to the head and back in response to
repeated takedown attempts. The volleys slowly broke the
Minnesotan’s spirit.

In the third round, Trujillo countered a weak single-leg, pinned
his turtled opponent against the cage and let loose with a savage
series of knees that forced the stoppage.

Siver Overwhelms, Outpoints Phan

Dennis
Siver recorded his sixth win in seven appearances, as he
overwhelmed “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 alum Nam Phan en
route to a lopsided unanimous decision in a preliminary
featherweight bout. All three cageside judges scored it for Siver
(21-8, 10-5 UFC): 30-24, 30-25 and 30-26.

The 33-year-old Russian-born German was in charge from the
beginning. Siver went to work with kicks in the first round,
targeting Phan’s lead leg, head and body. His offensive onslaught
only grew in scope, as he mixed in straight right hands, left jabs,
left hooks and the spinning back kicks for which he has become
known. A late replacement for the injured Eddie Yagin,
Phan (18-11, 2-4 UFC) did little more than absorb punishment for 15
minutes.

Siver added takedowns to his attack in rounds two and three, twice
moving to mount and battering Phan from above with elbows, punches,
forearms and occasional hammerfists.

The bantamweights spent almost their entire encounter on the
ground, exchanging sweeps and scrambles. Jorgensen (14-6, 3-2 UFC)
spent more time in top position, as he launched short elbows to the
head and freed himself from a triangle choke. Late in the first
round, the Twisted Genetiks representative moved to Albert’s back
during an attempted escape, cinched the choke and flattened out the
Dennis
Hallman protégé for the last-second finish.

“I know I was short [on] time,” Jorgensen said, “and I knew I had
to squeeze my butt off.”